Samouraï — Restaurant in Brussels

In one word: bad, bad, bad. Sorry I used three actually. Look at the bill in my photos. We spent 591 euros in 3 people. A price over the unimaginable for the quality of the food, the experience, the service, the location, the quantity... Simply unacceptable. We ordered the Wagyu meat Chef menu (175 euro) and the Sushi Chef menu (79 euros). You get starters, main plate and dessert. The wagyu meat was not good quality. It was not melting in our mouths and we could taste the fat. To be honest we were not even sure it was real Wagyu meat since they didn’t show us any certificate which normally they should do. The sushi was not fresh and it was 3 pieces of tuna, 2 of salmon and yellowtail sushi. I am paying 80 euros for good sushi and I thought I would get something more special than the seafood I can get at any supermarket or at all-you-can-eat restaurants at ten times cheaper. But most of all, it was not tasty and visibly not so fresh. The service of the waiters was just not professional and the waiting time between one dish and the next one was just not correct. So slow! No setting on the tables meaning that the cutlery was touching directly the surface of the table which was cleaned with the same cloth touching all the tables at the same time... You would think we would pay for the experience but we were sitting outside, at a dodgy porch close to Rue Neuve. For us, this was a...

Short version : PEOPLE, DO NOT VISIT THIS "RESTAURANT" ! Today, I made a telephone reservation under my own name at 11:00 for a table for two at 12:00. I arrived at the restaurant at precisely 12:00 to face a closed door and no visible lights. I supposed there was some delay for opening, and wandered for 10+ minutes in the area. I came back a bit after 12:10 to the same closed façade. At that moment, some asian guy with a cook's apron (definitely not Japanese btw, more Philipino or Indonesian) emerged from somewhere else, ignored me - I was visibly waiting 1 meter in front of the door, the only person in this area - quickly opened the door ... and immediately closed it back !!!!! I knocked at the door and got no answer. I tried to phone again, same number as the reservation, no answer !!!! AMAZING (NOT) ! At 12:20, we finally went away and walked to the nearby Place Sainte-Catherine where several fine restaurants are open, welcoming, and we finally had a perfect fish dinner after this despicable Samurai "experience". Be assured that not only will we NEVER attempt to eat at this unpolite address, I will also make sure my friends, my family, my neighbours and my (international) clients and colleagues will never ever spent any money here. A place that takes your reservation one hour before, then closes its door and never answers you...

Let's split this review in positives en négatives. First the positives. Service was amazing. Super attentive, polite and friendly!! 5+ stars Quality of the food was amazing as well, all dishes fresh and prepared as they should be. 5 stars atmosphere is nice and cosy 4,5/5

The negatives. Nothing extremely bad, but all added up result in my final score. Wagyu upgrade to the menu was not available (being one of the reasons I visited... But the other meat dish was tasty, so that's fine) Sashimi plate in the tasting menu was poor. The fish tasted great, but basic selection without anything interesting to discover. Portion was super small. Wine was served too cold and had to wait on it even though I asked in advance to serve it with the meat dish. small selection of wines and sakes per glass, making it difficult to have drinks paired with the food. Wine price quality is bad with high markup. (certainly the wines per glass). None of the wines in this (per glass) list were really great, and all quite expensive. In terms of sake this is better, but you'd have to take 330ml Overall price quality is also not that good. Comparing it to the other Japanese restaurants in GM in Brussels. But it is easier to get a table...